This week, General Motors and Ford will introduce new versions of luxury sedans that are designed with China's luxury consumers in mind. From tricked-out back seats to super high-end amenities like champagne holders, the American companies are betting that Chinese growth is the future.

According to the latest US census data, nearly 80 percent of Americans speak only one language. But one state is taking a gamble on multilingualism in a big way: Utah. It's become a pioneer in foreign language learning, even as some residents are unhappy with the move.

As the market for movies and entertainment grows in China, both American and Chinese productions face difficult questions when it comes to Chinese government censorship. But figuring out if things are getting better or worse is harder than it appears.

The latest Beijing/Tibetan fight is over reincarnation. Though Chinese Communists say the Dalai Lama is an advocate for violent separatism, they were perturbed when the Tibetan Buddhist leader said he might actually die someday.

Activists in China had planned to call attention to domestic violence ahead of International Women’s Day this past Sunday, but China's state security stepped in to detain at least 10 activists in three different Chinese cities.

Twenty years ago, at a landmark global women’s rights conference in Beijing, it looked like equality was in reach for the women of the world. But things haven’t gone as easily as hoped since then. Today, there’s still no country in the world where women are equal to men.

Twenty years ago, global leaders gathered in Beijing to discuss the status of women worldwide. Today, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former vice president of South Africa, now heads the UN agency tasked with tackling gender equality issues. She says, despite some progress, women still have a long way to go in the struggle for equality.

Updated

03/05/2015 - 2:00pm

She rarely thought about air pollution. Then her kid had a tumor. Her direct, personal documentary has become a phenomenon in China, with 200 million video views in less than a week. And then authorities clamped down.

The Korean American community is standing by a new statue honoring thousands of "comfort women," or sex slaves, used by Japanese soldiers during World War II. Japanese conservatives say the statue has to go. And both sides are taking the issue to the White House.

Death is expensive. The American casket industry is a $1.5 billion business, leading some families to seek out cheaper options from China. But the Chinese haven't been able to bury the American competition.

A photo of three pioneering women doctors has been circulating in social media -- but they're not wearing white lab coats. They're wearing culturally significant dress and they represent the first women doctors from their countries, back in the 1800s.

According to the latest US census data, nearly 80 percent of Americans speak only one language. But one state is taking a gamble on multilingualism in a big way: Utah. It's become a pioneer in foreign language learning, even as some residents are unhappy with the move.

Death is expensive. The American casket industry is a $1.5 billion business, leading some families to seek out cheaper options from China. But the Chinese haven't been able to bury the American competition.

A photo of three pioneering women doctors has been circulating in social media -- but they're not wearing white lab coats. They're wearing culturally significant dress and they represent the first women doctors from their countries, back in the 1800s.

Most Chinese believe the government's view that Tibet is thriving under China's rule. They rarely hear about China's heavy hand there or its suppression of Tibetan dissent. That's where Tsering Woeser, a poet who grew up in Tibet, comes in. She lives in China and writes in Chinese striving to give a voice to her people.

According to the latest US census data, nearly 80 percent of Americans speak only one language. But one state is taking a gamble on multilingualism in a big way: Utah. It's become a pioneer in foreign language learning, even as some residents are unhappy with the move.

Ever heard of Sing Peak in Yosemite National Park? Turns out, it has nothing to do with music. It honors the park's Chinese immigrant past — and an amazing backcountry chef named Tie Sing. A park ranger at Yosemite did some digging and unearthed the hidden history of Sing and the immigrants who helped create the park we know today.

A more prosperous China is getting more interested in wellness — and Daoist temples are offering courses on nutrition, health, meditation and tai chi. Government money is pouring into temples as Beijing has said nice things about Daoism, says journalist and author Ian Johnson.

Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, are controversial around the world, sparking protests and marches. But a lawsuit among agricultural giants over GMOs is something few people would have predicted.